Erewash Borough Council is celebrating today's good news announcement that it has won both its bids for Heritage Lottery Fund grants - scooping a total of £1.2 million for two ambitious heritage projects.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) confirmed the awards today (Monday 7 July) and means the council has secured £503,600 for its award winning Erewash Museum and £740,800 for Victoria Park in Ilkeston.

The success signals the go-ahead for exciting projects at the two sites and is the result of months of hard work put in by council teams to put together large scale and detailed bids to impress the HLF and secure the funding for Erewash.

The achievement is a major boost for the borough and will be welcomed by residents who have supported the council's ambition to restore historic parts of Victoria Park and to expand the Museum into a bigger community facility. Details of the projects are:

The Victoria Park Heritage Project will see the complete restoration and secure the long-term future of three key features within the historic park – the bandstand, the pavilion and the pergola arch.

The work will also include new heritage bedding, improvements to pathways and a new programme of activities and opportunities for more local people to volunteer and play an active role in maintaining the park for future generations. The park dates back to the 19th Century and has achieved Green Flag status over the last three years.

Erewash Museum will see its coach house, stables and hayloft transformed into a learning and community venue that will build further on the success of the Museum. The all-new centre will open up a wide range of exciting new opportunities to showcase local history and will expand the educational work carried out by the Museum with schoolchildren and visitors.

The HLF funding will also drive forward the 'Old Stables Project' to explore the history of Dalby House in Ilkeston, which is home to Erewash Museum and is one of the oldest buildings in the town.

Councillor Mike Wallis, Erewash Borough Council's Lead Member for Culture and Leisure, said:

This is a landmark day for Erewash and a very exciting one – winning this funding is a great success that we have worked hard to achieve. It is the good news we hoped for and means we can now turn our plans for two very important heritage projects into reality.

"We thank all those residents who helped us in putting together our winning bids, the support from the general public has been incredible and we know everyone will share our delight at today's announcement. This is a milestone moment that signals the go-ahead for two of the biggest and most ambitious heritage projects seen in Erewash."

Vanessa Harbar, Head of HLF East Midlands, said:

Both Victoria Park and Dalby House have played a significant role in Ilkeston's history and are already treasured places for local people to enjoy. Parks and museums help people feel proud about their local area and contribute to everyone's physical and emotional well-being. I'm pleased that this funding will help restore two outstanding assets to benefit the whole town in many ways."

Brian Spiby, Vice Chairman, Friends of Erewash Museum said:

This is a great step forward for a little museum – during the last four years the museum has seen visitor numbers grow rapidly and a steady stream of regional and national awards have been won. The lottery grant will enable the museum to make an even greater contribution to the local community and we look forward to welcoming new and long-standing visitors to the museum."